End of an era for Audi as quattro GmbH changes its name

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Say ‘quattro’ to most people and they’ll know what you’re talking about. They’ll at least have an image in their head, probably of a yellow-and-white blur parting a sea of spectators at the Rallye de Portugal, or of the boxy Eighties coupe that set the benchmark for all-wheel-drive performance road cars.

The 1985 Audi Sport S1 is one of Germany's most memorable contributions to motorsportCredit:
Audi AG

It’s certainly an evocative name, which is why plenty of people are sad that quattro GmbH has just been renamed Audi Sport GmbH. While no cars were sold directly to the public by quattro GmbH, and the iconic ‘Quattro’ car predated quattro GmbH (and actually gave its name to the new company), this name change is seen as a significant moment in the company’s history.

quattro GmbH, stylised with a lower-case ‘q’, wasn’t originally heavily involved with cars. It was created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Audi AG in 1983, following the success of cars bearing the Quattro name plate both on the road and in motorsport. But quattro GmbH wouldn’t start building vehicles until the Nineties. In fact, the first car it had real autonomy over was the S6 Plus, produced from 1996.

Quick Audis had been produced before this point, most notably in conjunction with Porsche. But with the growing demand for fast estates (a sector that Audi helped to define) it was clear that the development of these new performance road cars should be brought in-house. Thus, the 322bhp, 4.2-litre V8 S6 Plus rolled out of quattro GmbH’s factory in Neckarsulm for the first time.

The RS4 Avant Quattro – still an exceptionally cool car – was one of quattro GmbH's first big hitters

The subsidiary would go on to produce fast Audis such as the RS4 and RS6 at the same factory. Because of capacity, production at Neckarsulm has been largely sequential, with R8 manufacturing taking place in a redeveloped part of the site. Some quattro GmbH-developed models have been built elsewhere in the Audi empire.

Audi Sport GmbH will remain on the Neckarsulm site, and will continue to be responsible for RS and R8 models. Eight new models are expected over the next 18 months, making this an exciting time for Audi’s performance subsidiary.

Audi Sport Gmbh is also responsible for the customer racing programme as well as the Audi Exclusive car customisation department, giving boss Stephan Winkelmann plenty to think about. But as the man who oversaw the introduction of the Aventador and Huracan while heading up Lamborghini, he’s unlikely to be daunted by the challenge.

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